He started his off season a month early. He is 12 for his last 104 ABs with 54 strikeouts.

Yeah. So much for the slim hopes of trying to sucker someone into trading for him. I was hoping he'd continue to hit at a passable level in the 2nd half, but I knew it was probably a foolish thing to hope for, and sadly he has indeed regressed severely.

Yeah. So much for the slim hopes of trying to sucker someone into trading for him. I was hoping he'd continue to hit at a passable level in the 2nd half, but I knew it was probably a foolish thing to hope for, and sadly he has indeed regressed severely.

He had a good couple of months there, the problem is he goes missing for months at a time. As Jim Margalus says, Dunn doesn't go into slumps, he goes into death spirals.

Reed cannot close out a game without drama. It's exactly like when Jenks stopped overpowering guys, "became a contact pitcher", and people argued that the fact that he was getting a ****-ton of contact didn't matter because he was still getting saves. 1-2-3 innings are just too rare for him to be relied upon to close.

Reed reminds me of Bobby Howry. He came up, threw hard with some interesting stuff, looked promising, got the closer role real quick, did ok but not great, and then got really shaky as the fastball velocity dipped and the stuff got tentative and poorly placed. Howry lost his closer role shortly into the 2000 season to Foulke. I wouldn't be surprised if the same happens to Reed next year.

If by "strong contribution" you mean getting the golden sombrero once again, then yes, he gave us a strong contribution tonight. Dunn is such a tool.

BTW, has anyone noticed that Rongey hasn't taken calls on the postgame show in weeks? Either he's over dealing with the callers or there aren't any to deal with, so he cuts the show short.

As much as some callers are difficult to deal with in a season like this, Rongey acts like an ass to just about everyone who calls in with a comment about anything. If you suggest a possible change, hint that you are worried about someone's struggles, or second guess any move that the manager, GM, coaching staff, or player has made, he will bite your head off and tell you you are dead wrong and had no business even considering what you said, and he'll get super defensive on behalf of whoever you just mentioned with a smug "you don't know the whole story so you should even be given the time to finish your call" tone. He's right, the caller is wrong, and him being right also means that whatever the player/coach/manager/GM/owner decided was also right, and you had no business calling in and trying to discuss it in the first place. It's the worst model you could possibly have for a call-in post game show.

Reed cannot close out a game without drama. It's exactly like when Jenks stopped overpowering guys, "became a contact pitcher", and people argued that the fact that he was getting a ****-ton of contact didn't matter because he was still getting saves. 1-2-3 innings are just too rare for him to be relied upon to close.

I'm with you. I hate that mentality. Likes something silly Rongey would say. They good to great closers get were they are not playing games nibbling and over thinking. And getting a ton of 123 innings. Pitching to contact as a reliever doesn't make them long for the game.

As much as some callers are difficult to deal with in a season like this, Rongey acts like an ass to just about everyone who calls in with a comment about anything. If you suggest a possible change, hint that you are worried about someone's struggles, or second guess any move that the manager, GM, coaching staff, or player has made, he will bite your head off and tell you you are dead wrong and had no business even considering what you said, and he'll get super defensive on behalf of whoever you just mentioned with a smug "you don't know the whole story so you should even be given the time to finish your call" tone. He's right, the caller is wrong, and him being right also means that whatever the player/coach/manager/GM/owner decided was also right, and you had no business calling in and trying to discuss it in the first place. It's the worst model you could possibly have for a call-in post game show.

He has become worse. I mean what does he expect? Fans to be happy and thrilled with this team? Baseball is the greatest game, because you can 2nd guess a manager or point something out that's wrong. What makes him right and everyone wrong? Because he does interviews with Cooper? Pffft

Being a bad team is one thing, but this is some extraordinary kind of bad we're seeing here.
BTW, Reed's career ERA in September is 6.35. Something is not being covered in offseason conditioning if this keeps happening.
Edit: As far as Rongey's postgame goes, I applaud him just for staying sober during those shows this season.